Dwayne De Rosario and Dejan Jakovic called-up by Canada National Team

The Canadian Soccer Association today announced its roster for its first two CONCACAF Round 2 matches of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ qualifying. D.C. United’s Dwayne De Rosario and Dejan Jakovic were both named to the 19-man roster and will join the Canadian team prior to the its first game against St. Lucia at BMO Field in Toronto on September 2. The team’s second game will come on September 6 against Puerto Rico in Bayamón.

Since arriving at D.C. United, De Rosario has started in eight of the nine matches he has played in, registering six goals and two assists in 759 minutes of action. The midfielder was acquired on June 27 from the New York Red Bulls in exchange for midfielder Dax McCarty. Prior to joining the Black-and-Red, De Rosario tallied three goals and five assists in 15 games (14 starts) for New York and Toronto FC. Overall, De Rosario has nine goals and eight assists in 24 total games (22 starts).

De Rosario has been involved with the Canadian National Team since the age of 16. He has accumulated 60 senior team caps, scoring 17 goals in that time. Recently De Rosario scored for his country in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Guadeloupe on June 11 and against Panama on June 14. The midfielder was named Canadian Male Player of the Year for three consecutive terms, from 2005-2007.

In his third season with United, Jakovic has started each of the 15 games he has played, registering 1,324 minutes of action with the Black-and-Red.

Jakovic has become an increasingly important player for Canada over the past three years. Jakovic was called-up for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup by his country, but missed the tournament due to an injury suffered in a June 1 friendly with Ecuador. Earlier this year, Jakovic played 90 minutes for his country in Larissa, Greece in a 1-0 friendly loss on February 9. In 2010, Jakovic made appearances in international friendlies against Peru, Honduras and Ukraine. The United defender appeared in five games for Canada in 2009, three coming during the summer in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Jakovic also appeared in two international friendlies during that year against Guatemala and Poland. The 26-year-old made his senior team debut for Canada on January 30, 2008 against Martinique.